Pride and Carrots
by Ngrasta
Summary: A little Wildehopps AU fluff I started for 'No Shame November' Pretty tame stuff, but it's very self indulgent for me X3
1. Chapter 1

The warm summer breeze danced across the countryside, carrying scents of lavender, fresh grass, and ripening apples. Judith inhaled deeply. Summer was her favorite time of year, and as was her custom, she would be spending the afternoon reading beneath her favorite apple tree; It was an old tree and bore few fruits, but it's leaves were thick, and it sat upon a short hill with a perfect view of her father's carrot plantation.

Finishing her short climb, she was about to set out her blanket when she came upon an unexpected sight: Before her lay a fox. He was sound asleep sprawled in the shade. A frown marred her otherwise perfect features. She opened her mouth, preparing to chastise the intruder, when her eyes finished adjusting to the dimmer light under the leaves. The sight stunned her. Mouth agape, she could only stare at what lay before her: The light that snuck between the leaves dappled his coat, and made it shine like burnished copper. The fur of his chest, soft and white like spilled cream, did little to conceal the lean muscles of his chest, the taut lines of his belly. it's color darkened again as her gaze traveled lower, till…

Judith quickly averted her eyes, a blush brightening her quivering ears. He was naked! Never before had she seen a male rabbit in the nude, much less a fox! This was unacceptable, unspeakable! Such vulgarity flaunted openly, without shame, without…

"Oh, pardon me ma'am, I did not expect another mammal this far from the fields."

Startled she lept into the air, turning as she did. The fox now stood before her, stretching his arms above his head. He was still nude, and her eyes (her traitorous eyes) flickered down briefly before she once again turned her back. Judith took several deep calming breaths before she was able to speak.

"Sir, you are on my father's plantation. I insist you depart immediately!"

She heard the rustling of cloth behind her, and an amused voice answered.

"Of course. Far be it from me to offend the delicate sensibilities of a lovely young lady such as yourself. Consider this foul creature gone."

Judith waited a moment, but heard nothing more. Casting a quick glance behind her she saw that the fox was gone. This surprised her a little. She had expected to hear him leave, but it seemed that his species reputation for slyness was well deserved.  
Sitting down in her favorite spot she opened her book, but found herself distracted by thoughts of lean muscle, and russet fur... 


	2. Chapter 2

Judith returned to the burrow early that afternoon. Despite her attempts to focus on her novel, she found that she was unusually distracted. A fox, of all mammals! She couldn't get him out of her mind. A pleasant dinner, and a good night's sleep would set her to rights. Calmed by the thought of returning to a comforting routine, she opened the front door, prepared to greet her parents.

The fox was there. Standing not five feet from her. Nothing could have shocked her more. Before she could even begin recovering her mother was at her side, urging her towards the smiling fox. "Oh Judith you've returned, And what perfect timing! We have a guest this evening. Meet Sir Nicholas. He's here as an emissary from the Zootopian Parliament!"

With a slight bow, Sir Nicholas offered his paw. "Judith? What a lovely name. I'm pleased that we have this opportunity to be formally introduced." Catching her unresisting paw in his own, he raised it to his lips. Meeting her blank stare with his twinkling eyes, he winked.

Later, Bonnie was never sure why Judith fainted. She suspected it was too much time spent in the warm sun that afternoon.  
_

The feel of cool cloth against her forehead gradually brought Judith to wakefulness. Her mother sat beside her, a worried frown quickly replaced by a small smile upon seeing Judith stirring. "Oh my sweet child, how do you feel?" Judith sighed. Realizing that explaining the situation to her mother would only create a scene, she decided to bypass the issue. "Mother, I find myself exhausted. May I be excused to my room? I feel that a night's rest will set me to rights." Bonnie gently stroked her daughter's ears, the familiar motion soothing Judith more than she expected. "Of course Judith, get your rest and don't worry, You'll have ample opportunity to speak with Sir Nicholas." Bonnie's smile grew as she said this last. "He'll be our guest this week while he meets with the local landowners. I know how much you love hearing about Zootopia, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to share his stories with you." Judy made an effort to keep a smile on her face. Speaking to Sir Nicholas again was something she had hoped to avoid, but it seemed that the fates had other ideas. With any luck he would be too busy with his meetings to have time for her. Because luck had clearly been so kind to her lately. 


	3. Chapter 3

Judy had hoped that she could avoid the subject of Sir Nicholas except for those times when she was unavoidably in his presence. Her siblings had other ideas. Being the eldest of her parents first litter she had the privilege of her own room. Bathing was another story, and she hadn't made it more than 2 steps into the bathing house before she was surrounded by a cluster of her sisters, all asking similar questions.

"Judy, did you meet Sir Nicholas?"

"Is he really a fox?"

"Is he cute?"

"Is he single?"

Feeling overwhelmed she did her best to answer the questions as quickly as possible, while moving steadily toward the showers. "Yes Teresa I met him, yes Karen he is a fox, No Melinda I don't think he's cute, and I have no idea if he's single Melinda." Not giving her sisters a chance to bombard her further, she turned on the shower and began scrubbing her fur. Her sisters, sensing that they would get no more information from her (at least for now) slowly wandered off, leaving her to bathe in peace. Lathering her fur up she started to think of what she could to to keep busy for the next week in order to avoid the fox. Being in charge of that family's finances took a fair bit of her day, but she was almost always finished by early afternoon. She would have to find additional tasks to occupy her time. By the time she was rinsed off she had thought of several reasonable ideas. The advantage of living on a plantation was that there was always more work to be done. Cheered by this thought she finished her morning ablutions, and hastened to her room.

Dressed in a dark green skirt, white blouse, and purple vest she felt ready for her day. Stopping by the kitchen she grabbed a pawful of dried fruit for her breakfast. Relieved that she didn't spot her mother (who was sure to have only one topic for conversation this morning) She hustled down the short hall connecting the dining area to the family offices.

Entering the otherwise unoccupied office she let out a relieved sigh. Doing the books always calmed her. The neat organized numbers always behaved as expected. Nothing ever left unaccounted for, nothing out of place. Nothing exciting.

She paused halfway to her desk. Nothing exciting, why had she thought that? The books weren't supposed to be exciting. They were meant to be reliable… and boring. Her ears drooped. Did she really think her work was boring? She'd never considered it before. There wasn't exactly anything to compare it to, but yesterday something unexpected happened. Someone surprised her, made her uncomfortable. After a moments introspection she realized that she wasn't actually mad at Sir. Wilde. He represented something different, and that scared her.  
Slumping into her chair, she let her head thump against the desk. She would balance the ledgers, track shipments, and fill orders. But she knew that her heart wouldn't be in it. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't mind talking to Sir. Wilde again... 


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of Judith's morning seemed to pass by in a slow crawl, and she was grateful beyond words when she heard the lunch bell ringing from the kitchen. She would normally take her meal back to her office to eat, so as to waste as little time as possible away from her work. Today she wanted the company of her siblings, so instead of following her routine she sought a seat at one of the tables. For the first time in years she listened to the conversations her brothers and sisters were having. There was talk of field conditions, relationships, catching up with those that they saw rarely, and other things that family would talk about. She made some small talk, but wasn't looking for conversation today, for now she was content to feel the connection to her family that she hadn't realized she was missing.

Returning to her office she felt better than she had that morning. Maybe a little change wasn't such a bad thing. With that thought she returned to work, the numbers in front of her once again providing their usual comfort. They weren't just meaningless marks, they meant that her family would continue to enjoy the security of financial stability, and she was glad to be a part of that.

By dinner she had almost forgotten the cause of all her introspection. That didn't last long.

"Good evening Judith, may I dine at your table tonight?"

The unexpected voice startled her, but she retained her composure. Turning she greeted the now familiar fox.

"Sir Wilde, I would be delighted to share your company at dinner. If you will excuse me a moment I would like to freshen up prior to being seated?"

She didn't exactly simper, but she gave her best impression of a 'blushing belle'. Offering a proper curtsy she left the slightly nonplussed fox, and made her way to the nearby powder room. She felt absurdly pleased at his reaction. Till now he had struck her as the sort of mammal that never lacked for a witty remark. Oddly her perfectly acceptable greeting had caught him off guard. The thought that she might have got a bit under his skin made her smile. Maybe she could turn the tables on him in return for startling her yesterday. Checking herself in the mirror she suddenly felt a little silly. She wasn't wearing any fur highlights, accessories, and had only a plain dress on. There wasn't exactly anything for her to 'freshen'. Smoothing the fur on her ears she decided not to let any of that bother her. This was who she was, and trying to change would be more than foolish. Glad for the moment to collect her thoughts she returned to the dining room. Time to outfox a fox. 


End file.
